


The House of Seven Ghosts

by FebruaryFun



Category: Original Work
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Neglect, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:55:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23571952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FebruaryFun/pseuds/FebruaryFun
Summary: You go to a house and talk to seven ghosts, learning their stories.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	The House of Seven Ghosts

**Author's Note:**

> I was half-asleep when I wrote this drabble and I didn't even spell check before I posted it, sooooooo... please don't be too harsh. Also, tell me if I missed any trigger warnings.

You're walking through a house of ghosts with one, intention, one purpose. You can't leave until it's done. So... You meet the ghosts.

You find the first ghost in a bedroom, laying in bed. You sit next to it and ask for its story. It tells you, "For the last several years of my life, I laid here. A man would stand in that doorway every day and tell me to get up, but never offered me a hand. I only got up once in those last few years. Then I died in my sleep." You ask if it would like help getting up. It asks you, "Where would we go? What would we do? There's no one alive who remembers me." You promise that you'll remember. You help the ghost up and take them outside. The ghost vanishes.

You find the second ghost in the kitchen. It's screaming as loud as it can, opening the oven and slamming it closed. You sit on the floor and wait patiently. It continues screaming. It opens cabinets and breaks dishes. After a moment, you sigh and tell it that you're not mad, but you're paying attention. The ghost calms down and is finally still. When you open your arms, it rushes forward to hug you, crying. You ask it for its story as you hold it. It says, "Mommy and Daddy never listened to me. My head always hurt and I only wanted to be in the dark. I made them very, very mad one day, so I ran away. They paid a lot of attention to me, then. It was the last time." You ask the ghost if they would like you to turn off the lights. They say yes. As soon as you do, the ghost vanishes. 

The third ghost appears at the table, shortly after the first one leaves. You pull back a chair for it and ask it for its story. It sits down and says, "All I ever wanted was to enjoy myself. I didn't ever care about being pretty. Even if no one thought I was pretty, I was healthy, and worked hard. A horrible woman locked all the cabinets in the house. I got dizzy walking home from school one day. I never woke up." You ask them if they would like something to eat, and they say yes. You find there's nothing nothing in the fridge, but it doesn't matter. When you turn to look again, the ghost is gone. 

The fourth ghost is in the garage, staring across the street. You don't even having to speak before it talks to you. "Look at that car," it mumbles. "The neighbor's car. It's lovely." You ask the ghost why it matters and they shake their head. "My wife always told me I needed to stop talking about other people. She would complain that I wanted to be someone else... Then I was dead." You ask them to tell you why they didn't just stop talking about other people. It laughs sadly and says, "Because I want other people to be happy. It feels nice for others to say you've done well." You tell the ghost that you like their car just as much as the neighbor's. They smile at you, then disappear.

The fifth ghost is in the bedroom, curled up on top of the covers. As soon as it sees you it gets up and jumps at you. You just stay still. It doesn't attack you- Instead, it hugs you, eager to be held. You sit on the bed and lay down, just cuddling for a little while. Then you ask it for its story. It says, "I never really wanted a romance. I liked to be loved and to be held, but kissing was never my thing. Still, I did it, because that was what people expected of me. I kissed a lot of different people, just so they would hold me. One night I kissed the wrong person. Then I woke up alone again." You ask them if they'd just like to cuddle for a little while. They say yes, so you close your eyes. When you wake up, the ghost is gone.

The sixth ghost is in the office, frowning at a blank finance book. You ask it for its story, but it doesn't say a word. You leave a penny on the desk, then ask again. It turns to you and says, "Who I am doesn't matter. It's the same old thing... I've always been hated for what I do. I always want more money, it seems. I have riches and I want them to grow. People have seen it over and over, so they don't care what I want the money for. They don't believe anyone should have that much money in the first place." You nod, then politely ask what the penny is for. They tell you, "A woman comes here to sleep sometimes with her two children. She was living in her car, but it got repossessed. It's imperative that those children never live with their father. If she could just get some food, that would be enough..." You take out your wallet, then leave two $100 bills on the desk. The ghost smiles and writes in the book, then vanishes. When you look, it says that you paid $200.01 for a story. It then says a man's name you recognize, paying $200.01 to a woman you don't know. You leave the money there as you go to the next room.

The last ghost is in the attic. It's dusty and full of tools, like a workshop. A ghost sits at a desk, inspecting a wooden carving. When you enter, it says, "Please, pull up a stool and tell me what you think of this." You grab a stool and sit down next to it. The carving is of a woman holding a child. After looking at the carving, you tell the ghost you love it. It smiles, saying, "Thank you. I made that one. You can keep it, if you want." You hold the carving carefully and ask the ghost for its story. It nods thoughtfully, saying, "Well, I did everything I put my heart into. My parents refused to put me through college if I became an architect, so I worked three jobs to save up the money myself. I was working as a server at a restaurant when I met the owner's daughter. After two hard years, my thoughts of architecture were all but forgotten. I became a chef, then came back to work with her. We dated, then we got married. We had two children. My wife's parents retired and gave us the restaurant, and my children grew up to work there, and their families, and their families after that. It's been a family restaurant for five generations now, and the carving of my old dog still sits at the front entrance." You ask it why, then, it's still here. What it says next, it says very seriously.

"Sometimes people will think horrible things of you. A teenage boy once lived in this house. His father called him lazy, but he was so depressed, he could barely make himself get up. Then, one night, he overdosed. His father called poison control and they barely managed to save him. The boy was in therapy almost every day for years... But, when he was twenty five, he genuinely laughed for the first time in sixteen years." The ghost sets down a carving of a finally happy man.

"There was a child who lived here once that had a sensory disorder. They were too young to articulate what was wrong and were often ignored, so they threw tantrums all the time. One night, they took it upon themselves to walk to the hospital. They were only eight... But they saved their own life. Their parents very nearly lost custody of them, and the child finally had the care they needed. Years later, they became a pediatric doctor, specializing in children just like themselves." The ghost sets down a carving of a doctor kneeling kindly in front of a hurt child.

"There was a teenage girl who lived here that loved to bake. She definitely had a sweet tooth, but she was plump in a way that was endearing, not unhealthy. Still, her mother starved her. This poor child didn't get a happy ending. She passed out in the road while walking home from school one day and was hit by a moving truck. Her mother went to prison and her story was told all over the state, urging more and more teens to come forward about eating disorders and abuse. It's bittersweet, that her tragedy would keep so many more from happening..." The ghost sets down a carving of a girl on a pedestal, with flowers all around it.

"There was a husband here who wanted nothing more than praise. He admired others and wanted to be just like them, trying to emulate them. All he got from his wife, however, was scorn. She divorced him when they learned that he was sterile. After that... He stopped trying to meet and expectations but his own. He started building cars as a hobby, and he actually had a hand in building multiple cars for professional racers." The ghost sets down a carving of a nice sports car.

"There was another young woman who lived here once, and she had a lot of love to give. However... None of it was sexual, or even romantic. She just craved physical affection. People called her a slut and refused to hold her without her giving something back. Her story, unfortunately, also has an unhappy ending. She ended up kidnapped and murdered by one of her one-night-stands. A few months later, her younger sister came out as aro-ace." The ghost sets down a carving of two people embracing.

"And then, of course, the businessman... I'm sure you've heard of him. His death was national news. People often mocked all his good intentions because he could afford all the comforts he wanted. Still, before his death, he donated billions to various charities. His unseen generosity reached places he would never see and people he would never meet. Even today, people mock him... But so long as they're kind to one another, that's all he asks." The ghost sets down a carving of a man counting money at a desk.

The ghost is quiet for a moment, looking at all seven carvings. "People will call us lazy, angry, gluttonous, envious, lustful, greedy, and proud. Tell me..." The ghost turns to look at you. "Are you proud of who you are?"

Your hands shake slightly as you answer, "...no."

"Well this isn't going to fix it." The ghost slowly reaches forward and takes the rope from your hands, already tied into a noose. "Come here and let me show you something that can help."

Years later, you lean against your spouse as you look out the front windows of your shop. Your hands are callused from making carvings to sell. Your back aches from carrying your children. Your heart is full and warm. You look up at a hill as the sun begins to set, at the house you planned to end it all in so long ago. You smile to yourself, then whisper, " _I'm proud_."

The ghost smiles a bit, then vanishes.

**Author's Note:**

> Some of this is left up to interpretation, so I'd really like to hear your interpretation of this story in the comments!


End file.
